One of the biggest questions that comes up when any student is applying for financial aid for post-secondary undergraduate education is, “Do you have to pay back Pell Grants?” The short answer is very rarely does one have to pay back a Pell Grant, but there are a few circumstances where you do.
The Pell Grant is a form of student aid that has been around since 1973 and is the most widely used federal government funded program in the entire country. The biggest reason for this is that in most cases, you don’t have to pay it back. A grant is an amount of money that is given for a particular purpose that does not need to be paid back. As such it is a great option when considering how to finance the cost of school without going into debt or going into as little debt as possible.
One of the biggest prohibiting factors to people attending post-secondary schooling is the cost and the cost seems to be rising each and every year. Private institutions have made a killing off of student loans to offer financing options to people who otherwise couldn’t afford college and a huge number of students take advantage of those programs more and more each year. So, it’s no surprise with all of the different student loan programs that are out there that students often find themselves asking, “Do you have to pay back Pell Grants.” Unfortunately, even though this program has been around for more than forty years, most new students don’t know that there is help available to cover the costs and even if you don’t qualify for the full amount of the Pell Grant, it does allow for partial payments as well. The maximum that the Pell Grant pays is $6345.00 per year, but the minimum is $635.00. This shows you that it is worth the time filling out the application to see if you qualify even for partial aid.
So where would you go to know the answer to this commonly asked question of, “Do you have to pay back Pell Grants?” Most people, unless they have attended post-secondary school and have used the program wouldn’t just be able to tell you. However, there are people in place to help students navigate student aid not only to answer this question, but also to ensure that students are made aware of all of their options for financing their education from both public and private sources. Each school has a designated department or office that specializes in student aid.
It is becoming more and more obvious how valuable post-secondary education is to the future of our youth. All students should make sure to look into the different options that are available to them to help offset the increasing costs of their education. If you, or someone you know find yourselves asking the question, “Do you have to pay back Pell Grants,” know that grants almost never have to be repaid and there are plenty of options out there to help with the cost of school.